Numbchux

best way is to find local insurance auctions. find a car that's been totaled, but is repairable. and look for something where most of the damage is in the back.

well, the clutch "linkage" is a cable....the hole in the firewall is already there. and you have to swap the whole pedal assembly.

well, it all depends what motor you get exactly. the later ones are pretty pricey.....but you can get an older EJ20G for a pretty reasonable price, and easily break 300awhp. suberdave is running one in his wagon. downside.....only the USDM ones are the 2.5l.

take it apart....it'll explain itself

indeed. an XT6 clutch will be plenty with adequate gearing (which you will have). and there are aftermarket options as well. stick with the EA tranny for that extra reduction! With bigger tires (I'm assuming you're probably shooting for somewhere in the neighborhood of 31-33"ers) you'll probably want to run with the EA case in low range even when you're not wheeling.... awesome project! I wish I had the means for one like it. but without a garage, or fabrication skills (not to mention the fact that all the cars worth starting a project like this with are all rusted out in this part of the world), I was pretty much just left with moving to something else. I with my Toyota looked like a Brat and had an EJ22

also, jdm engines don't have a whole lot of differences from the usdm ones. so if you need gaskets, or something like that, you can usually pick them up from the dealer. and even anyway, jdm part numbers will come up at a us dealer parts counter. so if you find a part number, you can still get the part.

I stumbled across a pretty sweet fix this fall. when I went to put everything together, I couldn't find the 2 bushings for one of the pivot points on the tranny side. but I did have the bolt and the sleeve that fits over it. so I wrapped the sleeve with electrical tape until it fit snugly into the linkage. I had only intended it to be a temporary fix, but it improved shifter feel soooo much, I've left it. and it's worked great! and again, I only did it to one pivot point!

that's why I was saying without a subframe. it'd be easy to swap a whole different setup in there if you were building a subframe under it, but that'd be hard to do without lifting the whole car at least a few inches my dad has a full Z31 turbo rear end just like that in the garage (5-lug swap for his N/A Z31). While it uses the same concept as the EA82 trailing arms.....I think it would be just as much work to make it fit up there. also, with XT6 hubs, you could modify the backing plates, and use the brembo brakes off the rear of your parts car. then the only EA82 part left is the bearings themselves, which are pretty tough. I think they'd hold up fine. another thought I had....IIRC the STi (or maybe not just the STi, but all newer cars...) have a wider track than the older EJ cars. meaning longer axles. So if you're using XT6, or modified EA82, control arms (bolt-on, and IMHO no need for an upgrade) you'll need to solve that problem. if you're using '04 STi hubs, you can just slide older axles (like from a GC impreza....known to be the right length) in there. all 5x100 hubs use the same splines, but if you have '05 hubs, you'll have to have the axles custom shortened.....

nice! all 4 (using '99 rears) AGXs cost 418 before tax and shipping from tirerack..... although I haven't researched any local sources yet.

I would not even consider this, as the mounting points are very different (especially for the strut tops ). and I would not trust the unibody to support these kinds of forces (even just for driving around the block) without building a subframe to support it. It would just put all kinds of twists, torques, and such in places that weren't designed to hold up to it. just my 2 cents.... which reminds me.....I'd look for an '04. cheaper suspension (the '05 switched front knuckle design, which means '05+ STi specific stuff.....which means many thousands of dollars for a relatively basic setup), and the bolt pattern will match the rear XT6 hubs (which is the best/easiest way to do it).

ishada. order up some coilover sleeve springs from ground control (http://www.ground-control-store.com) or, if you're willing to sacrifice some quality to save some coin, find some generic ones on ebay....anything like it for a '93-'01 impreza will work. there isn't a definite answer. 2wd shocks will do nothing. and there isn't a known shorter spring other than aftermarket. the Ground control 2.5" inner diameter springs (link listed above) fit perfectly in the stock EA82 rear upper perches, and can be ordered in any length/spring rate. so take some measurements (unweighted length! and stock rear springs for a wagon are 196 lb/in), and send 'em an email.

not just talking about making it shorter.....but actually improving the approach angle. with the stock bumper, the rad support is still the first thing (or maybe second, behind the oil pressure sending unit) to effect the approach angle.

sweet! a pair of '99 stock miata shocks with springs and top mounts just arrived at my house a couple weeks ago. these do have a bushing on the top much like the EA82s do....when I stop being lazy, I'll see if I can't make the miata bushing fit in the EA82 bracket......that would be the holiest of grails! although, I've put about 12k miles on this setup using the '90 Miata shocks. works muuuuch better than the EA82 stockers. and holding up fine (knock on wood!).

well, I think the best way to do it, might be to take both pairs in (one pair, R180, and one pair EA82), with an accurate measurement of what lengths they need to be (easiest way to do this would be to get an accurate measurement of the difference of widths between the 2 diffs), and take them to a drivetrain shop. as they'll probably have to be cut and welded together. Which, especially in a high hp environment, should be professionally done. but once you get both sets of axles side-by-side, you may find that you'll be able to just mix and match parts.....who knows.

who knows. the r180 is bigger in every dimension. uses different axles, hubs, brakes, etc. etc. etc. doing the swap in an EJ car means essentially replacing the entire rear end. from suspension, to lateral links, to diff hanger, all of it. but the rear end in an EA82 car is completely different...... I think the easiest way to do it, would be fab up the mounts for the r180. and then make custom axles to run the EA82 trailing arms.

ooo.....good call, I'll do that now.

here are the 2 from my hard drive: date on the files says I downloaded them in September of 2004.....

of course there is. but 99% of that stuff is heavily documented on dozens of other subaru sites. Seriously, this isn't much different than doing the same swap into an Early impreza....which has been done hundreds of times. only things that won't be the same for an EA car, is the fact that the dash isn't interchangeable, the rear end stuff isn't either, and there isn't a cutout already stamped into the firewall for the hydraulic clutch stuff (although, IIRC, suberdave is using a hydraulic clutch in his beast.....). my biggest worry is the rear diff. I've seen what a modded EJ257 can do to an R160 under mild abuse......

yes there is....it's saved on my dad's computer. but I can't find it for the life of me now.....I'm lookin though EDIT: VICTORY!!!! found it.....so I uploaded it to my site.....now I'll be able to find it easier:

holy open-ended question batman!!! there's no one-size-fits-all motor out there, if there was, it would be way more expensive. there are tons of options, they're all good....

did you read my write-up? it's catered more towards the EJ22e side of things, but will give you a huge jump start. and from there, search the likes of NASIOC and other forums for the information to get to a 257. as someone who's helped on a number of major swaps. here is my biggest piece of advice. do NOT piece together a swap. it'll just add to the headaches, and time. save up, and cough up what you need to for an entire donor car. then you'll have everything you need. and you'll know that the engine runs. I did the wiring for 2 full EJ205 swaps (engine, tranny, interior, etc.) in the last 6 months. 1 was done in about 2 weeks time because he had the entire car there, the other took about 8 months from first ordering the parts, to running and driving, finally got it going a couple weeks ago. because he didn't quite get everything. also, if you have an entire car, you can make a bunch of your money back selling parts that you don't need (the guy who bought individual parts ended up spending substantially more!). I know of a few places in the midwest where wrecked cars can be found..... Use an EA82 car. that'll also save you a ton of time and money in the fabrication department. as I know the DOHC motors don't fit between the EA81 framerails, and I highly doubt the 6MT would fit in the tranny tunnel..... But, we know that the DOHC motors fit in the EA82s. and they say that a 6MT can be put anywhere that a 4EAT could, and we know that EA82s came with 4EATs...... your biggest hurtles will be, in no particular order, wiring, converting to hydraulic clutch, rear diff (stock r160 + 257 power.....yikes.....and converting to an r180 in an EA car will be a giant of a project), and 5-lug (gotta do it, period. only way to get the brakes and suspension to control the power.....now, start looking for XT6 parts!!!). look for a '04-'05 donor car. the '06+ ones have immobilizer systems that will make it impossible (or very close to it) to run the motor on the stock ECU. and the '07s (I don't know about the '08s...don't have a FSM for one of those yet...) dropped the 1.1:1 transfer gear, so will need a 3.545 rear diff, the older ones use a 3.9 rear diff, which already exist in plenty in the EA cars. also, you'll need the speedo gear from an Early EJ tranny to swap into the 6MT to get your speedo to work (or find a way to graft the STi gauges in there, but that would take a stinkload of work to make it not look like total crap!) all the information is out there. take the information in my write-up, plus the documentation that suberdave and rguyver have done on their swaps, plus the information on NASIOC and RS25......you'll be doing it with your eyes closed.

to answer your original question. all brat's have the EA81 engine (in the US, anyway...). so, yes, those are EA81 pistons. but, being for a turbo, they have a different shape to allow for a lower compression ratio. so they are interchangeable, but not the same. if you're looking to drop your CR, these are perfect.

I'd start by inspecting all steering and suspension components. tie rod ends, ball joints, struts, shocks. in that order. then look into tires, maybe sway bar bushings, etc.

neither. just saying that the rest would be 3.9. but now that I think about it, the '85 and '86 RXs had a PT4WD DR trans that would be a 3.7. but both have crappy gearing. almost worse than a single range non-turbo one. short version. get it from a non-turbo car.

I was just thinking of that one. I may have a couple old pictures saved on my other computer.....I remember the snap-on canvas cover on the rear.....pretty sweet rig.